Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of the British Army’s regular forces are undeployable or medically downgraded.

At 1 April 2026 (most recently available data) 10.5% of UK full time trade trained army personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel graded as MND are not fit to deploy on Operations, they may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. Personnel graded MND may require continued medical care, long term medication and access to secondary care facilities.

14.3% of personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel with a grade of MLD are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. A grade of MLD requires a medical risk assessment to be carried out for deployment. The decision on that deployment will depend on the medical condition, individual function, the proposed employment, length of the deployment and the medical support available. As such, it should not be assumed that only those personnel graded Medically Fully Deployable are able to deploy.

This response presents Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) for all full-time trade trained army personnel, including Gurkhas and reservists.